Dr. Gregory Powell never expected a medical emergency at home, but when he collapsed and his heart stopped, his daughter and wife began CPR, buying the minutes EMS needed to bring him back.
About 100 beats per minute is the recommended rate for chest compressions during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, a procedure that can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency.
“You’re trying to restore blood flow,” Jacolby Parsons, an EMS supervisor said. “Your heart is not beating, so blood is not getting to everywhere in your body. So, doing those chest compressions kind of like manually beats that heart for them and it makes that blood go where it needs to go.”
Dr. Gregory Powell of Memorial Health said he saw the impact of CPR firsthand after he collapsed on his couch earlier this year.
“I never had a history of heart problems and I collapsed on my couch on May 20th,” he said. “My daughter did CPR at home, assisted by my wife. They called 911 and the EMS showed up.”
Powell recalled how he nearly died during the incident.
“My understanding is that my heart had completely stopped for a time,” he said. “It was in a rhythm that isn’t consistent with staying alive for very long, and EMS was able to shock my heart back into rhythm.”
Powell said his family’s quick response helped keep him alive until emergency crews arrived.
“If they hadn’t shown up, my daughter would have eventually worn out,” he said. “My understanding was that I turned purple for a while, and they were able to get my blood flow back until the EMS arrived.”
Powell said he had not dealt with heart issues before, aside from high blood pressure, and that a medical emergency like his could happen to anyone.
“It’s really important for anybody to learn CPR, because if my daughter hadn’t been there, I’d have died,” Powell said.
While Powell’s daughter is a nursing student, Parsons said people do not need medical training to take action in a crisis.
“Everybody can go through CPR training,” he said. “You don’t have to have any pre-qualified classes, anything like that.”
Parsons added training isn’t necessary to help in an emergency.
“Don’t be afraid to do chest compressions,” he said. “Even if you don’t have that class, just go ahead and do chest compressions.”
People interested in CPR classes can look for in-person training in their community. Online CPR training is also available through the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross.
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